Leadership Is Language: The Hidden Power of What You Say--and What You Don't

When I was young, I could never put my finger on what exactly made a good leader. Personality, knowledge, trust worthiness? A combination of all of these? Maybe. So how do you become a better leader? Learn more, work to improve your personality, and convince people to trust you? There's an easier way and all you have to do is change what you say. In Leadership Is Language, David makes it so simple to go from using what he calls the Industrial Age playbook where bosses used controlling, coercive language to get their people to comply (not think) and continue work for as long as they deemed necessary, to using the New Playbook for Leaders. In the New Playbook, he walks us through the 6 plays: Control the Clock, Collaborate, Commit, Complete, Improve, and Connect. Every play is set up with "say this not that" to help you change the words you use and replace them with language that helps people speak up when they see something, when they think differently than the leader, and how to share anonymously in groups. I can only imagine David was considering the reader as he structured the layout of Leadership is Language, it's so user friendly!! He has so many real life examples of companies and people. Because of reading Leadership is Language, I have better conversations with my 14 year old son, my husband and my coworkers. If you've ever wanted to be a better leader, parent, friend, or spouse, then reading this book will give you the tools to improve.

I really enjoyed the initial publication by this author. I was excited when this book was released, it does have some information inside.. It is an incredibly boring and difficult read. There was too much attempt to quite literally turn it into a playbook (think football) and this distracted a lot from the ability to read the book. I am sure the information is most likely worthy, but I can't find the will to read past 44% of this book. It feels like it was as painful to write as it is to read.

David Marquet hit the nail on the head! The people that work in an organization ALL matter. How you speak to them and the safety level they feel in giving their opinions is paramount to growing a successful team and successful leaders. The El Faro story shows that had the crew felt safer in giving their opinions, they may well have had a different ending to their story. If you are looking for new ideas and strategies on the language that you use and the responses you hope to get, you should plan to buy and read this book.

David Marquet’s first book, Turn the Ship Around, is a well-written account of the successes he had in changing the culture of the USS Sante Fe by empowering his crew – and one of my favorite books. In Leadership is Language, Mr.Marquet has done a thorough job in not only showing the many misconceptions that leaders are burdened with, but also in taking the time to explain how the seemingly simple actions of a leader can hinder the engagement and growth of those that they lead. I have read the book and listened to the audiobook (both are great), and Leadership is Language has now become my favorite book of this genre! David Marquet breaks down his book into “plays” to counteract the common errors of leadership, while dovetailing in actual transcripts of real-world issues, academic studies, and conceptual exercises. This book is enjoyable to read and will be the first one that I now recommend to people.

Leadership is Language is a great follow up to David’s first book Turn the Ship Around. What I like about all of David’s work is that it gives concrete things that you can do, say this not that kind of thing. It really pointed out the things that I do everyday that could be affecting the way my team works. I ask poor questions too often; “Does that make sense?” instead of “What would you like to hear more about?” subtle but powerful. Redwork and Bluework was very powerful for me, we always think we train our teams to speak up and think but if you don’t build that into your work rhythm you are really missing out. We think our problems are unique but this can help in so many ways.

While reading, "Leadership Is Language," I found myself evaluating the leadership styles of the many jobs I have held over the yeras and thinking how the company culture would have been different with even just a few changes in leadership style. I am lucky enough to work in an organization that employs so many of Marquet's teachings in this book. One point that stood out to me of his playbook was, "Collaborate." So many companies are still structured in a "deciders vs doers" structure and are missing out on the innovation that comes with collaboration between all structures of hierarchy. All managers should read this book and encourage their employees to do the same in order to suggest ways processes can be done better and more efficiently, giving voice to all and promoting critical thinking in roles that are traditionally not encouraged to do so.

Great book overall with excellent content. Good insights into how the art of management started out as a "science" devoid of true leadership, which provides the backdrop for the "move forward" actions outlined. The book is essentially a playbook to modify your approach to reach new heights of organizational success. The concepts are extremely applicable in the multi-generational workforce of today. Fundamentally, management comes down to people, but people come with habits and biases that get in the way of reaching a shared goal. Therein lies the opportunity to apply the plays/actions and become a leader for your team, not just a manager. My one negative is that the book runs a little long and got repetitive on the examples. Still, very much worth the read.

The book has some solid concepts around how people use language and how that affects people around them. A lot of it is centered around the idea of moving away from Industrial-euro ways of operating where doing the work is separate from thinking about the work. Marquet defines seven areas of work that need to shift, both on the doing and thinking side. And he provides plenty of examples to help picture the range of possibilities. And since this is about how we talk, it provides plenty of opportunities to watch the ideas in action. I don’t know what value there is in calling it “blue work and “red work”, as I forgot every time what the difference was - which color represents which type of work. And I kept struggling in the decision-making section (collaboration over coercion), why Marquet doesn’t acknowledge a range of decision making modes from leader-directed to team-owned.

Communication is the key to success in business as well as relationships. The language we use can mean the difference between success and failure or even life and death as Marquet points out. Leadership is Language forces us to think about the language we use to conduct business; what we're used to doing; and how it is detrimental to forward progress. Then, he gives us an alternate play finding balance between doing (redwork) and thinking (bluework). Like in his first book, "Turn the Ship Around," the words we use can have a profound psychological affect on the people we work with. If you are in a leadership position, these books are required reading!

I am a public health official responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. This book is must reading for anyone in a leadership role, especially for averting or managing disasters. I found the book immediately useful, especially the concept of "controlling the clock" and scheduling time for deliberation ("bluework") for making team decisions. I read many books on organizational leadership and team decision making. This book is must reading if you have an interest in either of these topics.

When I was young, I could never put my finger on what exactly made a good leader. Personality, knowledge, trust worthiness? A combination of all of these? Maybe. So how do you become a better leader? Learn more, work to improve your personality, and convince people to trust you? There's an easier way and all you have to do is change what you say. In Leadership Is Language, David makes it so simple to go from using what he calls the Industrial Age playbook where bosses used controlling, coercive language to get their people to comply (not think) and continue work for as long as they deemed necessary, to using the New Playbook for Leaders. In the New Playbook, he walks us through the 6 plays: Control the Clock, Collaborate, Commit, Complete, Improve, and Connect. Every play is set up with "say this not that" to help you change the words you use and replace them with language that helps people speak up when they see something, when they think differently than the leader, and how to share anonymously in groups. I can only imagine David was considering the reader as he structured the layout of Leadership is Language, it's so user friendly!! He has so many real life examples of companies and people. Because of reading Leadership is Language, I have better conversations with my 14 year old son, my husband and my coworkers. If you've ever wanted to be a better leader, parent, friend, or spouse, then reading this book will give you the tools to improve.

I really enjoyed the initial publication by this author. I was excited when this book was released, it does have some information inside.. It is an incredibly boring and difficult read. There was too much attempt to quite literally turn it into a playbook (think football) and this distracted a lot from the ability to read the book. I am sure the information is most likely worthy, but I can't find the will to read past 44% of this book. It feels like it was as painful to write as it is to read.

David Marquet hit the nail on the head! The people that work in an organization ALL matter. How you speak to them and the safety level they feel in giving their opinions is paramount to growing a successful team and successful leaders. The El Faro story shows that had the crew felt safer in giving their opinions, they may well have had a different ending to their story. If you are looking for new ideas and strategies on the language that you use and the responses you hope to get, you should plan to buy and read this book.

David Marquet’s first book, Turn the Ship Around, is a well-written account of the successes he had in changing the culture of the USS Sante Fe by empowering his crew – and one of my favorite books. In Leadership is Language, Mr.Marquet has done a thorough job in not only showing the many misconceptions that leaders are burdened with, but also in taking the time to explain how the seemingly simple actions of a leader can hinder the engagement and growth of those that they lead. I have read the book and listened to the audiobook (both are great), and Leadership is Language has now become my favorite book of this genre! David Marquet breaks down his book into “plays” to counteract the common errors of leadership, while dovetailing in actual transcripts of real-world issues, academic studies, and conceptual exercises. This book is enjoyable to read and will be the first one that I now recommend to people.

Leadership is Language is a great follow up to David’s first book Turn the Ship Around. What I like about all of David’s work is that it gives concrete things that you can do, say this not that kind of thing. It really pointed out the things that I do everyday that could be affecting the way my team works. I ask poor questions too often; “Does that make sense?” instead of “What would you like to hear more about?” subtle but powerful. Redwork and Bluework was very powerful for me, we always think we train our teams to speak up and think but if you don’t build that into your work rhythm you are really missing out. We think our problems are unique but this can help in so many ways.

While reading, "Leadership Is Language," I found myself evaluating the leadership styles of the many jobs I have held over the yeras and thinking how the company culture would have been different with even just a few changes in leadership style. I am lucky enough to work in an organization that employs so many of Marquet's teachings in this book. One point that stood out to me of his playbook was, "Collaborate." So many companies are still structured in a "deciders vs doers" structure and are missing out on the innovation that comes with collaboration between all structures of hierarchy. All managers should read this book and encourage their employees to do the same in order to suggest ways processes can be done better and more efficiently, giving voice to all and promoting critical thinking in roles that are traditionally not encouraged to do so.

Great book overall with excellent content. Good insights into how the art of management started out as a "science" devoid of true leadership, which provides the backdrop for the "move forward" actions outlined. The book is essentially a playbook to modify your approach to reach new heights of organizational success. The concepts are extremely applicable in the multi-generational workforce of today. Fundamentally, management comes down to people, but people come with habits and biases that get in the way of reaching a shared goal. Therein lies the opportunity to apply the plays/actions and become a leader for your team, not just a manager. My one negative is that the book runs a little long and got repetitive on the examples. Still, very much worth the read.

The book has some solid concepts around how people use language and how that affects people around them. A lot of it is centered around the idea of moving away from Industrial-euro ways of operating where doing the work is separate from thinking about the work. Marquet defines seven areas of work that need to shift, both on the doing and thinking side. And he provides plenty of examples to help picture the range of possibilities. And since this is about how we talk, it provides plenty of opportunities to watch the ideas in action. I don’t know what value there is in calling it “blue work and “red work”, as I forgot every time what the difference was - which color represents which type of work. And I kept struggling in the decision-making section (collaboration over coercion), why Marquet doesn’t acknowledge a range of decision making modes from leader-directed to team-owned.

Communication is the key to success in business as well as relationships. The language we use can mean the difference between success and failure or even life and death as Marquet points out. Leadership is Language forces us to think about the language we use to conduct business; what we're used to doing; and how it is detrimental to forward progress. Then, he gives us an alternate play finding balance between doing (redwork) and thinking (bluework). Like in his first book, "Turn the Ship Around," the words we use can have a profound psychological affect on the people we work with. If you are in a leadership position, these books are required reading!

I am a public health official responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. This book is must reading for anyone in a leadership role, especially for averting or managing disasters. I found the book immediately useful, especially the concept of "controlling the clock" and scheduling time for deliberation ("bluework") for making team decisions. I read many books on organizational leadership and team decision making. This book is must reading if you have an interest in either of these topics.

What I liked is he takes a number of topics (some of which we are familiar and some new) and packages/presents them into an excellent presentation on leadership. From the big picture down to specific language, he uses a number of real-world examples to drive his message home. To aid in our recall, he provides a summary after each chapters and a glossary of key terms at the end of the book. This book will aid you as a leader or a coach with a 'path-to-improvement'.

Small shifts in your language with big paybacks! Immediately applicable and usable. For leaders and team members alike. But mostly leaders, or those striving to lead.

This book is just amazing. It’s not what you say, it’s how you say it that makes all the difference.

Insightful read

This is how to "unearth" the information and the effort from your team, that you know is right beneath the surface. How do you get the collective wisdom of the crowd? How do you raise moral and activate the gifts of the people on your team? This is a Must Read!

This is a real good book and L. David Marquet is as good a writer as he is a leader.

Another highly relatable and functional set of leadership tools created by retired US Navy Captain Marquet.

Turn the Ship Around was one of my all-time favorite books on leadership, so I was thrilled to hear L. David Marquet was coming out with another book. I've always been a big believer in the importance and power of language. "It's just semantics" is just a terrible excuse. Especially as a manager, the language you use and the way you frame things is critical to setting up your team for success. As soon as I opened this book, I found myself thinking back to specific situations where I would have used different language. It quickly pointed out a lot of things I've been doing wrong, and I was able to apply the lessons to how I manage later that day. Highly recommend this book for anyone who manages people.

With the amazing success of Turn the Ship Around!, I had very high expectations for David Marquet's next book: Leadership is Language: The Hidden Power of What You Say and What You Don't. It does not disappoint. David builds on Intent-Based Leadership (give control, while increasing competence and clarity) with the power of language for leaders. The book is grouped around specific "plays" leaders at every level can use right away, and focuses on how to change the words and phrases we use, as well as the language of the organization. Control the clock - Collaborate - Commit - Complete + improve - Connect. These are the plays. Along with compelling stories, David shares concrete ways to implement the plays, and most importantly how to change your language to create a space where people feel valued. Buy this book! My copy is already dog-eared and marked up with the tips and tricks I'm sharing with the leaders in my life!

Much has been written about modern leaders' mindset and behaviors. Relatively little, however, has been written about how they communicate. Their language -- what they say, how they say it, and how it's interpreted -- creates and solidifies a culture, whether they want to or not. If you're a leader intending to create an explicit culture of ownership and responsibility, read this book. Through compelling stories, a conversational tone, a clear structure, and many practical examples, it will help you direct your self-awareness and increase your communication effectiveness.

With this fresh and insightful book, David Marquet continues to help me see leadership with fresh eyes. For leaders hoping to be more effective in a new paradigm of cognitive work, this book is like going from black and white to color. David begins the book with the compelling story of El Faro, breaking down the specific language used by the crew and its leaders. He highlights how El Faro is illustrative of the type of outdated organizational plays, stemming from an Industrial Age paradigm where leaders did the thinking and workers did the doing, that we so often use to the peril of organizational effectiveness. David is on a mission to help us turn doers into deciders. He believes, as I do, that people often rise to the level of our belief in them. When we as leaders give trust and simultaneously empower team members, they often surpass our expectations and our own individual capabilities. David persuasively demonstrates the limitations of our outdated models of language and leadership, and he clearly articulates new “plays” that your team can adopt today to increase effectiveness and team satisfaction. Not only does he provide 6 new plays, but he also underscores the ubiquitous cognitive biases that exist to challenge the type of free thinking and cohesion we often seek in vain. Just like Turn the Ship Around, this book is a game changer. It is transformational and paradigm shifting. David continues his effective assault on outdated and ineffective leadership models, and the world is better for it.

As I began to work my way through the first few chapters, I was again reminded of what the results of several major research studies revealed. The subject was impact during face-to-face contact. Although there were slight variations of percentage among the studies, all agreed that tone of voice and body language determine 80-85% of the impact; only 15-20% is determined by what is said. I agree with David Marquet that changes in the workplace, indeed throughout our society, require changes in how we communicate with others. He focuses on six, devoting a separate chapter to each: 1. Control the clock instead of obeying the clocK 2. Collaborate instead of coercing 3. Commitment rather than compliance 4. Complete defined goasls instead of cointinuing work indefginitely 5. Improve outcomes rather than prove ability 6. Connect with people instead of conforming to your role He explains each of these changes in context, within the narrative. Miuch of what he says is guided and informedc by his experiences as a ship's captain in the U.S. Navy. (Check out his first book, Turn The Ship Around!) Military officers probably offer the best group example of the "command and control"style of leadership. Marquet would be among the first to point out that leaders in the military must communicate much differently now, selecting what they say and how they say it with great care...and deciding what they don't say with even greater care. These are "hidden powers" that all leaders must master. All organizations need effective leadership at all levels and in all areas of the given enterprise. That is possible only in a workplace culture within which communication, cooperation, and collaboration are most likely to thrive. And that could be in a building or aboard a ship. David Marquet is correct: Leadership is language but effective leadership is possible only if language is used effectively. That is, by what is said and not said as well as by tone of voice and body language. Ultimately, leaders earn respect and trust, not by title or rank but by what they do and how well they do it...and that includes communicating.

Reading this book will give you a competitive advantage in the workplace. You will learn how to be a more effective leader and will have the opportunity to outpace your peers. But that is not magic, any of the best leadership books can provide you with a competitive edge. The clear power of this book is unlocked when the ideas spread among an organization and change it’s cultural DNA. Please read this Leadership Is Language then go buy copies for your crew. -Captain John Konrad, Author of Fire On The Horizon, The Untold Story of the Deepwater Horizon Disaster.

I have to say this book is an amazing read! There are so many real life scenarios that made me rethink pretty much every bad day I ever had at work and wonder how much better it would have been if the language we used was different. I've already started analyzing everything I say at work to be sure I'm not doing any disservice. And I can do this because Leadership Is Language includes very practical ways to implement changes. I have to say, the story about El Faro really got to me. It's such an important lesson. Please take the time to read this book. It is a game-changer!

Outstanding book by Marquet. Even if you have made the move from command-and-control to servant leadership, you are likely still using the Industrial-Age playbook and its language and don't even realize it. To be effective today, we need a new playbook. This book will get you there. Learn to control the clock, chunk work in a way that allows evaluation ("bluework") to improve instead of "interrupt" your processes ("redwork"). Collaborate better with tools and language that help you remove hidden biases, connect in a way that helps the team improve, celebrate at appropriate times and in appropriate ways to encourage, get commitment instead of compliance. We all need to read this book and then to put it into practice. It will take a collective effort to break old habits and throw out the outdated playbook. Here's where to start!

What a helpful book! The author is a thought, strategy and interaction leader. Every chapter contains insightful teaching on how to subtly change your leadership language. Even if you are not the leader in your work life, if you learn from this book it can make you the backbone of any place you interact in. I loved the way the tragic story of El Faro is honored to teach us all lessons. The end story creates an enlightenment. I used some of these ideas with our 2020 crisis and I must say L Davi’s work will prove and improve to be the leadership book of 2020. Every page is worth the work this writer has done. Thank you L David. Any reader owes the people around them the language in this book.

The author has the point about engaging the "doers" in the thinking-decision process and some good advice about the languages to use. However his writing style is not persuasive. It's like he's recording the scripts that he's had at different workshops. he's kind of collecting the verses/ideas/best practices here and there. Then he puts them together but does not have a flow between them. It seems he's been booked to write this.

As a former Naval Officer, lawyer, business owner, and entrepreneur, I found David's book outstanding. Clear, cogent, and rich with actionable ideas on how to improve communication and performance. Employed some of his recommendations on guiding analysis and decisionmaking immediately. They worked well. Well worth your time to read or listen to this book.

If you want ot leverage up your leadership this book is for you. We need to know how important our words (said and omitted) are. Marquet does an excellent job helping me be fully aware of my narrative so that I can be more impactful as a business leader and even as a parent

I admit I am a fan of David Marquet. His first book changed my viewpoint about leadership. This book personifies, what I'd call leading practices for guiding others. Guiding others to achieve a common vision. Where the first book provides ample examples as his time as a leader in the Navy, this book builds upon his experience helping others outside the Navy. This book provides new language to amp up your team. As a facilitator, it is chocked full of tips and techniques for moving others forward. It has the most tabs I've ever put in a book.

I have really enjoyed this book. I believe the blue work and red work concept along with the new plays are spot on. I appreciated the how each the concepts were backed up with research and references which puts additional weight on the concepts.

Great examples of how our language often drives certain behaviors. This was intentional for the past Industrial Age but is holding us back in the Digital Age.

I totally love David’s approaches to leadership. They are clear and simple messages and this book has some great relatable stories and lots of good examples of the things to say and not to say. People and teams want to collaborate, learn and work together to accomplish outstanding results. If you harness all their collective energy together it results in enjoyment fun and gets results. The red and blue doing and thinking is something I am already working towards and I didn’t even know it! High five to David for sharing his insights and messages so wonderfully and providing great inspiration and insight.

This book is amazing! The writing style, content and tools enclosed are insightful and will go along way in every situation and stage of my life. It’s brought peace of mind and understanding that the impact of how I lead at work can be improved through the language I use. I can’t recommend this book enough, you won’t regret the purchase. I wish I’d found it earlier!

Cuts through the noise that exists in the workplace (how many useless emails have you received today?) and shows you how to lead people in the most effective way. It's not about manipulation or coercion but getting everyone comfortable to commit to the teams work. Try the sample if you need a bit more convincing. And as a final gift, the materials that David provides through his LinkedIn and YouTube presence are really worthwhile and keep things fresh. Now, stop reading this review (good as it is) and read the book (which is really great)!

I was looking for a way to change the way I articulate to leaders as a coach. I found ways of changing the way I think and behave. Simple exercises. Real examples. Simple but powerful language in the book. Overwhelmed.

I enjoyed L. David Marquet's previous book, Turn That Ship Around, and this was a decent follow-up, building on similar themes. The downside of this book was that it seemed to drag and become a little repetitive in the theory-heavy middle, before picking up with more practical examples and case studies.

Love this book. I really related to it. So practical and well written. Will read again to keep learning.

Really adds some great current state and future state visions and approaches. The common language made it so easy to understand. Go but this

I bought this book as I thought it was about communication. It is. But it is mostly about management with a post-industrial mindset. Great insights and with practical applicability. An no-nonsense eye-opener on many aspects of day to day management. It makes so much sense and I am surprised I haven’t before come across these relatively straightforward insights or that they are not more widely acknowledged. Will highly recommend.

One of the most valuable leadership and business comms books I’ve read. Red/blue work battles and meeting word ratios have become a staple discussion in our leadership get togethers. Applicable to any sector but exceptional as it’s very compatible with agile philosophy.